Online Newsletter of Maryland Classic Youth Orchestras

TEMPO

Volume XII Summer ‘12

MCYO |

Become a Friend of MCYO! Your contribution ensures that our young musicians, regardless of financial circumstanc-es, have access to a full orchestral experience. Participation stimulates their musicial growth and provides them with unique performance opportunities. Donate to MCYO and become a “Friend” in one of our member clubs.

Maryland Classic Youth Orchestras is a 501(c)(3) Non-profit Corporation and is eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable contributi-ions.

Please make checks payable to MCYO and mail your donation to:

Maryland Classic Youth OrchestrasThe Music Center at Strathmore

5301 Tuckerman LaneNorth Bethesda, MD 20852

Donate Online!

Audition Dates for 2012-13 Season!!

• AuditionRegistrations will go on until the

week of the auditions. Click here to go to the audition website.

• AuditionClinic/Workshop will be on August 1st. (sign-up during audition regis-tration)

• AuditionWeek is August 20 - 25.• FirstRehearsalwillbeSeptember5th!

Moreinformationcanbefoundonourwebsiteoremailjohn@mcyo.org

Find MCYO on Twitter and Facebook!

MCYO Staff and Board of Directors Staff

Executive Director...............Cheryl Jukes Operations Manager.................John Park Artistic Adviser....................Jonathan Carney Associate Executive Director...Christine Cox Accountant.................................Julie Hamre

ConductorsDavid Levin, Jorge Orozco, MaryAnn Poling, Kristofer Sanz, Julie Savignon

ChamberEnsembleDirectorsAlbert Hunt, Carolyn Oh, Janese Sampson, Monika Vasey

ManagersFrancisco Cosio-Marron, Anna Davy, Linda Fong, Ben Kepler, Elizabeth Peterson, Holley Trittipoe

BoardofDirectors Chair......................................Bill Ford Vice Chair..................................David Phillips Secretary................................Mike Lemov Treasurer....................................Denise Miller

Directors-at-LargeErica Bondarev, Jerry Breslow, Bette Eberly-Hill, Dianne Felton, Lucy Freeman, Helene Granof, Doris Margolis, Jamie Schneider

Tempo Newsletter mcyo.org

Contents | MCYO

mcyo.org Tempo Newsletter 1

Table of Contents

2 From the Chair

3 Frequently Asked Questions

4 From the Artistic Director

5 Meet Our New Conductor

6 2012 End of Season Awards

7 2012-2013 Season Preview

8 Busy MCYO Musicians

9 Relive the Spring & Summer Semester

MCYO | From the Chair

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Dear MCYO Members and Friends,

It is my pleasure and privilege to lead MCYO’s Board as Chair again this 2012-2013 season. I hope all of our MCYO members, friends and colleagues are enjoying some great experiences so far this summer. I know our young musicians are attending various music festivals, camps and also diligently practicing for the upcoming August auditions, while MCYO’s staff prepare for the start of a new sea-son.

The summer issue of the TEMPO provides a great opportunity for MCYO to document recent events, as well as to convey organizational plans and highlights of the upcoming year. I hope you will find this issue informative and enjoyable.

MCYO is committed to providing unique, inspiring, enriching and varied musical experiences to our young talented musicians. Developing both musical skills and artistry is paramount. To this end, I am pleased to announce that the Board has appointed Jonathan Carney (BSO Concertmaster) the Artistic Director of MCYO, giving him a broader leadership role in the planning and structuring of the orchestra program to achieve artistic and educational goals. Be sure to read about season plans herein.

As Chair, I would like to acknowledge with gratitude the service of retiring Board members Nan Cooper and Erickson Foster and to recognize recently elected officers and newly appointed board members:Officers: Vice Chair, David Phillips, Treasurer: Denise Miller, Secretary: Mike Lemov.I wholeheartedly welcome the time and talent of the recently elected and appointed members: Doris Margolis, Helene Granof, Lucy Freeman and Erica Bondarev. Together with directors-at-large Bette Eberly-Hill, Jerry Breslow, Jamie Schneider and Dianne Felton, we have a wonderful board in place which I know joins me in looking forward to a great new season.

BillFord Chair,MCYOBoardofDirectors

From the Administrator by Cher yl Jukes, Executive Director

For MCYO, summer is a time to plan, regroup and prepare for the next season. Special thanks and well wishes for 2 of our orchestra managers—Paula Wheeland (Philharmonic) and Ashleigh Townsend (Young Artists) who are leaving to pursue other commitments: Paula served MCYO well as our Philharmonic manager last season and our Ashleigh wore many hats during the 3 years work-ing with MCYO. She served as Young Artists/Symphony manager, assistant conductor, rehearsal coach and woodwind quintet coach! She will be focusing on and finishing up graduate school stud-ies this season. We welcome 2 new managers: Mr. Cosio-Marron for Philharmonic and Anna Davy for Young Artists! Great programming plans and some new initiatives are already in the works. Following are some exciting highlights for the upcoming season, but be sure to note our photo gallery of late spring and summer events!

Frequently Asked Questions | MCYO

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MCYO FAQs: AuditionsQ:Whatarerequiredforauditions?A: Here is a quick checklist for auditions: • Scales- check the requirement website for the exact scale requirements for the orchestra you are auditioning for. • Solo - MMEA levels are specified on the requirement list, but musicians should speak with their private teacher and find a piece which will best show the musicians’ skill level. • Sight-reading - required for all instru-ments. Musicians will be given a minute to review the music before playing, so don’t start playing immediately. • OrchestralExcerpt - only required for strings and other select instruments. Will be posted on our website when audition registrations go online.

Q:Whatisrequiredforauditionday?A: Here is a quick checklist for audition day: • Music- bring a copy of your music! Also a copy (good to have multiple copies) for the judge. • Reporting-in - Please arrive at least 30minute before the audition time. Check in at the sign desk FIRST and take audition sheet and info sheet then enter the warm-up room. • Misc.items - bring extra strings/reeds, rosin, tuner, rockstop, and anything which will make the audition go smoothly. • Noparents - Of course parents can accompany musi-cians to Strathmore, BUT parents will not be allowed in the warm-up room or auditioning area. Parents, please wait in the lobby or the cafe of Strathmore! Thank you!

Q:Whenareauditions?A: Auditions for 2012-13 season will be held August20tothe25. You can STILL register for the auditions.

Click HERE to register for MCYO Auditions.

Q:Howdowepracticefortheauditions?A: First of all, you should print the audition require-ment chart and take it to your private teachers. Your private teacher will know your level the best and will be able to recommend the best solo piece and methods on practicing for the auditions. MCYO also offers a special AUDITIONCLINIC/WORKSHOP to provide audition tips and other sugges-tions. BSO musicians and MCYO conductors run this clinic, which is free for audition registrants. The clinic will be held August 1, 2012 in the evening, here at Strathmore. More information in box on right!!!!!

MCYO Audition Workshop 2012 August 1st at 7:00 PM at Strathmore is the date and location of the next audition clinic for those of you who might be audi-tioning for the first time or would like to get a better idea as to what the conductors are looking for at the auditions. Several MCYO conductors as well as 2 musicians from the Baltimore Symphony Orches-tra will be on hand to discuss procedures, expectations you should have of MCYO, and how you can best represent yourself as a rising musician. Conductors will discuss the requirements at length and will give you specific information as to the format of the auditions. The BSO musicians will be rep-resenting the string, woodwind, and brass sections and will spend time addressing specific issues that you may want to con-sider directly related to your instrument. The workshop will run around 2 hours, parents as well as students are welcome to come, but parents: please yield seats to mu-sicians!!! Ample time will be given for you to ask the conductors and BSO musicians questions.

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From the Artistic Director | MCYO

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I’m delighted to be taking on a broader artistic leadership role within MCYO. It’s a wonderful organ-ization, with very talented young musicians, support-ive parents and opportunities for great educational and artistic musical experiences.

The past couple of years, the conductors, staff, board and I have been developing an artistic vision for the organization that complements MCYO’s mis-sion, which is:“to nurture and develop young, talented musicians and enrich the community with quality orchestral experiences.” The vision, since it involves the musical development of our youth, addresses both education-al and artistic aspects of orchestral training.

Artistically, MCYO strives to present a unique experience for talented young musicians, one which transcends everyday music activities. MCYO seeks to challenge musicians with repertoire that stretches technical and artistic abilities, and which inspires the joyful exploration of the power of music. Expressing the artist within is a process in which MCYO en-deavors to have both its students and its conductors engage.

The artistic and the educational are not separate realms, but part of a larger experience that orches-tral/ensemble training requires. In fact, without exception the great artists that I have worked closely with over the years, have all been great teachers as well. Their methods may be more elusive. The nu-ance of their message more subtle. Their educational philosophies more ephemeral, but all great maestros have an underlining artistic passion that they bring to bear on their pedagogical methods. They never put the cart before the horse!

Plans for the 2012-2013 season are shaping up and conductor-orchestra alignments are in place. Please join me in welcoming Julie Savignon as our new conductor for the MCYO Chamber Orchestra, which I will also conduct and rehearse with some regularity this coming season. This group will primarily be a string orchestra for this year and will benefit greatly from having 2 string specialists--Ms. Savignon and myself—at the helm. Ms. Savignon performs as a violinist with both the National Symphony Orchestra

and the Baltimore Symphony. She is adjunct profes-sor at two colleges and maintains her own private violin studio.

Conductor Rotations in the upper level orchestras of MCYO will continue to take place next season. MCYO maestro Kris Sanz will conduct the Philhar-monic for the fall and winter concert semesters (Dec and March concerts), while maestro Dave Levin will conduct the Symphony musicians. In the spring, Mr. Levin will take the Phil, while Mr. Sanz conducts the Symphony. The rationale for the rotation is that it brings ben-efits to the organization in 3 ways:1. Student benefit: MCYO believes both educational

and artistic goals are solidified by conductor rota-tion, exposing musicians at upper levels to a vari-ety of musical experiences provided by different conductors with regard to style, interpretation, repertoire expertise or strengths, teaching meth-ods, rehearsal strategies, programming choices and artistic connections. Rotations help develop musician flexibility and broaden exposure.

2. Staff development benefit: a rotation enables MCYO to develop its conductors and assess their skills in alignment with various groups, unleash-ing the potential of both conductor and orches-tra.

3. Concert enhancement benefit: a rotation offers increased programmatic flexibility to take ad-vantage of availability of guest conductors from universities and professional orchestras.

In addition, I am very pleased to announce some wonderful upcoming collaborations: For the Decem-ber 9 MCYO Concert, a concertmaster coup! NSO concertmaster Nurit Bar-Josef and I will perform with the MCYO Philharmonic, Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante in an opening concert focusing on clas-sical masterworks. In March, MCYO is pleased to partner the MCYO Philharmonic with Young Artists of America in a very special operatic concert presen-tation, to be directed by Shakespeare Theater Artistic Director Michael Kahn.

JonathanCarney MCYOArtisticDirector

MCYO | Meet Our New Conductor

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Meet Julie Savignon, Conductor for Chamber Orchestra

Violinist JulieSavignon has established herself as an active soloist, chamber musician, orchestral player and teacher. Her perfor-mances have taken her to such distinguished venues as Carnegie Hall, the Smith-

sonian in Washington D.C, the Kennedy Center, Salle Cortot in Paris and the Muza Kawasaki Symphony Hall in Tokyo. Ms. Savignon recently traveled to Paris where she performed in recital and to critical acclaim at the famed Salle Cortot. Equally comfortable in the orchestral world, Ms. Savignon is currently a regular substitute player with the Baltimore Symphony and the National Symphony Orchestra. She has toured extensively with the NSO, and was invited to participate in the National Sym-phony’s most recent South American tour. Previ-ously, Ms Savignon was appointed Assistant Princi-pal Second Violin of the Charlotte Symphony. Ms. Savignon also performs with the Washington Concert Opera, Master Chorale of Washington at the Ken-nedy Center, as well as the National Cathedral Choral Society. She is a member of the North Eastern Penn-sylvania Philharmonic and has performed with the Reading, Lancaster and Delaware Symphonies and the Smithsonian Chamber Players. She has participat-ed in several recordings with the Houston Symphony Orchestra, Christoph Eschenbach conducting, while serving as a substitute player at the invitation of Mr.

Eschenbach. Ms Savignon toured Asia with the New York Symphonic Ensemble in July 2007. As a chamber musician Ms Savignon has col-laborated with such artists as Kenneth Goldsmith, Norman Fischer, Csaba Erdely, Anne Epperson, and Brian Connelly, among others. She has participated in the acclaimed Foothills Chamber Music Festival in Winston-Salem where she took part in a concert in homage to the late African-American composer Un-dine Smith Moore. She is currently working on a re-cording of works by Bartok, Strauss and Shostakovich with the Smithsonian Chamber Players. Ms Savignon served on the faculties of both Penn State University and Juniata College in Pennsylvania, where she also directed the string ensembles. Ms. Savignon’s stu-dents can be found among the ranks of some of this countries’ finest music institutions. In addition, she has maintained a private studio for the past 8 years. Ms. Savignon studied in France, at the renowned Conservatoire National in Dijon, where she was awarded The Medaille D’or by unanimous vote. While in Europe, Ms Savignon was profiled on several occasions by National French television and featured in live performances and interviews. She completed her academic Baccalaureate Degree in France with high honors and then joined famed violinist Josef Gingold’s studio at Indiana University. She then completed both the Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in violin performance at Rice Univer-sity under the tutelage of Sergiu Luca and Kathleen Winkler. Ms. Savignon plays a fine Enrico Rocca violin and a Eugene Sartory bow, considered to be one of his fin-est examples.

Alumni News - Lindsey Shi

I played in several MCYO ensembles: Violin in YA with Scott Herman 2003 – 2004; Viola in Sinfonia with Chris Allen from 2005 – 2006; Viola in Philharmonic with Olivia Gutoff, David Levin, and Scott Her-man 2006 – 2007, Viola in Philharmonic with David Levin 2007 – 2008. I attended Richard Montgomery High School. I’m now in my senior year studying chemical engineering at MIT, and I still have yet to decide on a law school to attend in the fall. I’ve kept up my music by playing viola in a chamber group at MIT. I’ve also served for two years as the vocal director of my a cappella group and for 3 years as a co-vocal director and then as a director for a musical theater troupe. My sister Tanya plays flute in MCYO, ^_^ . A fond memory of MCYO is Mr. Herman saying about Night on Bald Mountain: “You might call this my theme song.” My advice for young and talented students: do your best to stay that way! Talented, at least.

2012 End of Season Awards | MCYO

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ASTA MUSIC TEACHERS promote ORCHESTRA playing

Why Orchestra?Portion of article for MDDC chapter’s next issue of Stringendo. Reprinted with permis-sion of Jean Provine, American String Teachers Association

Here are a few of the many compelling reasons that our students MUST join an orchestra. - They will have fun playing with friends, make new musical friends, and have peers to look up to; all which encourage them to continue their practicing. - They will develop their counting, reading and ensemble skills to a higher level setting them up for suc-cessful ensemble playing as adults. - They will be musically broadened by the many musical styles, composers and technical challenges in the orchestral literature that we would never have time to explore in their private lessons. - They will be well equipped to play chamber music. - They may get the chance to tour and travel. - They will be the future of our orchestras: if not playing in them, they will appreciate and support them financially. - They will help keep the orchestra tradition alive by encouraging their children to join orchestras.

MCYO 2012 End of Season AWARDS

Congratulations to our college scholarship winners, who were named at the May 22 final concert:

ChesterJ.PetranekCollegeScholarship:Winner – Gabe Slesinger, trumpet

Honorable Mention: Jessica Liu, flute

RuthR.AlbrightStringCollegeScholarship:Winner – Emilio Carlo, viola

HonorableMentions:Maggie Dixon, violaZoe Loversky, viola

MargaretandAndreasMakrisCollegeScholarship:Phillip Kettler, cello

At the May concert, MCYO was pleased and proud to present the annual ChesterJPetranekCommunityAward to the NationalPhilharmonic. This award is presented annually to an individual or group for:“OUTSTANDING DEDICATION AND SERVICE IN SUPPORT OF YOUNG MUSICIANS IN THE WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN AREA”

MCYO | 2012-2013 Season Preview

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Season2012-2013toinclude:• Dec 9 concert features our 2 renowned concertmasters: NSO’s Nurit Bar-Josef

and BSO’s Jonathan Carney with the Philharmonic• Trip/Tour to the Netherlands/Belgium over spring break March 23-Apr 1, for up-

per level musicians in Philharmonic, Chamber Orchestra and Symphony. (More info on next page)

• New NSO collaborations for Master Classes and sectional coaching• Open Rehearsal with renowned guest artist conductor Juanjo Mena• Special March concerts: --March 6 concert at Strathmore for Young Artists, Symphony and Chamber Orchestra --Sunday, March 10 concert collaboration premier between Young Artists of America and the MCYO Philharmonic• Year 3 of Preparatory Strings conducted by our Chamber Strings maestro Jorge Orozco, assisted by

conductor/string specialist Sarah Foard (violin) with in-rehearsal coaches Maria Montano (viola) and Elizabeth Peterson (cello). Auditions on 8/22 Register here.

• New Concerto Competitions! o String Concerto Competition, winner to perform with MCYO’s Philharmonic orchestra on the May 19 concert at the Music Center at Strathmore. More information to follow at enrollment time. o Chamber Strings concerto competition in fall, dates TBD, winner performs as soloist with Chamber Strings in concert • Clarinet and Flute Choirs, rehearsing weekly and performing recitals and spe-

cial outreach concerts • Collaborations with BSO, National Philharmonic and Strathmore for master classes, special guest

conductors for open rehearsals, CityDance recital performances featuring MCYO chamber groups, new Blackbox Theater performances at Strathmore

• Jonathan Carney recital performance Nov 13 with select MCYO soloists

Alumni News - Steve EberlyI was in both Junior and Senior Orchestras from 1978-1982. I played trombone under Chester Petranek. I attended Northwood High School in Silver Spring before it closed (it was used to house several other schools for years but now reopened as Northwood). I attended University of MD and graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and I have an MBA from the University of Minnesota. How I’ve kept up with music: I played all throughout college in the UMD Basketball Pep Band travelling to several ACC tournaments. After college for a few years I played in a com-munity band and in a community show orchestra. I’ve been mostly inactive the past 20 years, but now I’m getting interested again as my children are becoming school aged. I’ve been exposing them to music in general and recently a nearby group piano activity. I live in Minneapolis and work for the Trane Company and Thermo King Corpora-tion (both are Ingersoll Rand Companies). I lead cross- functional teams to develop new products in the commercial HVA and transportation industries. A fond memory of MCYO?: As a bit of background, I was lucky to grow up in Mont Co as the child of 2 music teachers and where there are so many musical options. Since my parents had many of their students in the orchestra while I was growing up, I was well aware of the high level of musicality required. It was always an aspiration of my musical career (and somewhat of an expectation) to play in the orchestra. I enjoyed my gears, particularly the Christmas concerts. My mother reminded me recently that I did not play in the orchestra in my senior year of HS as I got annoyed with counting so many bars of rest! My advice to MCYOers is to take your musicianship to whatever level you can, keeping in mind it’s all about having fun and getting to know other people.

Busy MCYO Musicians | MCYO

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Take a look at what MCYO musicians have been doing in the Spring/Summer semester:

May4 – NPMasterClassforClarinet with RichardStoltzmanCongratulations to William Cai, Daniel Echikson, Ellen Hong and Christopher Kao on performing wonderfully at the master class. And thanks to National Philharmonic for providing this opportunity for our musicians and attendees!

May13 – MCYOChamberChoirConcert:In the CityDance Blackbox Theater was the culmination of our cham-ber choirs’ musical year! Congrats to ourJuniorFluteChoir,SeniorFluteChoirandClarinetChoir for outstanding performances!

May20 – MCYOFinalConcert:ARussianFlair: At Strathmore Hall was a great success: kudos to all of the remarkable soloists: Claire Hu and Ryan Cho in ChamberStrings; YoungArtists with their premier of the Dackow / Tchaikovsky arrangement; ChamberOrchestra’s collaboration with the MadrigalSingers; Philharmonic concertmaster Rhea Chung in her superb performance of the Khachaturian; Philip Kettler in his Strathmore conducting debut! So many high-lights, not to mention the splendid playing by every musician in this final concert!

May23 – In the CityDance Blackbox Theater marked the season finale for our newest and youngest group - PreparatoryStrings! Congrats on an excellent concert and a year of great musical development and a concert featuring all of your repertoire!

SummerEvents!– Special thanks to the MCYO String Quartet (Rhea Chung, Philip Kettler, Maggie Dixon and guest Zeynap Alpan) for their NBC Asian American Heritage reception performance on May 29 at the NBC studio.Glen Echo Park: Kudos to the MCYOWoodwindQuintet (Emma Poe-Yamagata, Ellen Hong, Tanya Shi, Sarah Plumley and coach Ari Allal) and the HarpEnsemble(Vivian Franks, Nora Kelsall, Sophie Kim, Madi-son Holt and director Monika Vasey) for stellar performances June 14 to kickoff the summer concert series!

Pictures are on Page 9

Onourwebsite,wealwayspostMCYOmusicians’achievementsfortheseason(Competitions,All-State,etc.).Clickheretocheckitout!

Highlights of Netherlands Festival Per formance tour Youth Music of the World (which previously took us to Lon-don for the New Year’s Celebration) has issued an invitation to MCYO to perform in the Maastricht Festival over spring

break. This performance tour features a visit to 3 countries in the space of a week (Netherlands, Belgium and Germany) and includes 2-3 performances while there. Sightseeing trips to Aachen, Amsterdam, Brussels, and Bruge. Priced at approxi-mately $2900, MCYO hopes to bring a wonderful Touring Orchestra of about 65-70 musicians (grades 8-12) to perform in the festival. Please mark your calendars and consider this memorable musical and cultural experience for your student for next season! Details to follow upon enrollment in September.

MCYO | Relive the Spring & Summer Semester

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MCYO PHOTOS Here are some of the photos from Spring/Summer 2012.

We always add pictures to our Flickr page, click HERE to view.

May Strathmore Concert:Chamber Orchestra and Georgetown Visitation Madrigals

May Strathmore Concert:Philharmonic and Concerto

Competition Winner Rhea Chung

Preparatory Strings Final ConcertMCYO String Quartet at NBC Reception

NP Master Class with Richard Stoltzman MCYO Woodwind Quintet at Glen Echo Park

Wewillmissyouclassof2012!!!

| MCYO

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MCYOproudlyacknowledgesfinancialsponsorshipbythefollowingcontributors.

• Individual Contributors • Board of Directors • Strathmore Hall Foundation • Maryland State Arts Council • Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County • The Trawick Foundation • Joseph & Ligia Wiegand Family Foundation • Paul M. Angell Family Foundation • Lockheed Martin Corporation • Washington Gas & Light Company • Washington Post Company • Montgomery Alliance for Community Giving • The United Way and America’s Charities • Carolyn and Jeffrey Leonard Tuition Scholarship Fund • The Joseph and Rosalind Shifrin Guest Artists Fund • Andreas and Margaret Makris Scholarship Fund • AT&T • IBM • COSTCO

Founded in 1946, Maryland Classic Youth Orchestras is the oldest, largest and most established youth orchestra program in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.

MCYO not only enriches the community with quality orchestra experiences but “nurtures and develops young talented musicians” by offering three full orchestras, one chamber orchestra, two string orchestras and additional chamber ensembles. Ranging in grades 3-12, over 450 talented musicians from around

the region participate each season.

For additional information, contact the MCYO administrative offices (301) 501-5208 or 5209

Want To Be More Involved???

VolunteerforMCYO!!!MCYOisalwayseagerforvolunteerstohelpwiththemusiclibrary,auditionweek,

adsolicitationandothertasks.Contactusatmcyoinfo@mcyo.org.

MCYO gratefully acknowledges our major funders: